Katspaw!
by HMRoberts
Summary: What happened with Crookshanks? Many cat lovers want to know! After his "starring role" (in canon) during POA, Crookshanks is barely acknowledged thereafter, ever again. He was at The Burrow for Bill & Fleur's wedding when all Hades broke loose...but then what? And - Just how DID Crookshanks come to be in a cage, for sale, in the first place? Read on...!
1. Prologue

ωωωωωω_ **DISCLAIMER** _ωωωωωω

I don't own any of it, make no money from it and I'm just playing in the JKR-HP sandbox.

(Plot/AU/etc. are just me "coloring outside the lines.")

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Everything was chaos!

People were running about, screaming, some (dressed in black robes with masks of silver) were shooting beams of various colored lights at one another. Of the others; the wedding guests and his family; some ran and screamed, but more of them were exchanging energy-focused beams back at the black-robed ones.

Huddled beneath a side table; his mate, Marina, quivered in sheer terror as she snugged tightly against his side; he cast his gaze around, desperately looked for his family.

He spotted one, Ron; whom he'd once had a mutual hatred with that ended when Ron finally realized how judgemental he'd been and they'd gradually built it into an amicable arelationship with; who was yelling for his best friends, Harry and Hermione. SHE was his soul bonded familiar, though it had taken a horrific series of events to make HER see the truth of that. Even then, he'd yet to feel the "shwoooosh!" he'd learned would happen when their souls truly forged the familiar-soul bond.

Maybe he'd waited too long?

Out of the chaos, he finally saw HER and SHE was dragging a Polyjuice-disguised Harry with HER, SHE then grabbed hold of Ron, yelling that they had to "Run!"

Just as he was about to come out to join in the trio, they spun away with a booming "Crack!" and were... gone.

Seeing all of the chaos still going on; noting that one end of the marquee tent was now on fire and spreading fast; he turned back to his Queen, Marina, who'd not moved a muscle, quaking in terror.

"Marina! We have to go!" he hissed as he came back and hunkered down by his terrified mate's side.

Fear paralyzing her ability to reply, she merely pressed trembling self tightly to his side, acquiescing to his demand.

Concentrating hard, allowing his magic to envelope both of them, he whisked the pair of them away with a barely noticeable "Pop!".

Neither noticed a cackling, black-haired witch casting a purple-hued curse at them, but they were safely disappearing just seconds before the curse would have hit them both.

Momentarily piqued at losing her targets, the crazed Bellatrix gave a frustrated "Grrrrrrrrr-hisssss!" then quickly lost interest before she found yet another target.

Neither the disappearing couple, nor the insane witch, knew they would meet again, one day.

And that THAT meeting would have far-reaching consequences, for them and the entire wizarding world!

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 **A/N**

 **I just want to thank everyone who has been so encouraging these past months as was going through some horrific medical issues. Contrary to semi-popular belief, drugs do NOT make you more creative, more inspired or more prolific. )chuckle(**

 **This tale is written in the style of both a movie and, later, a book.**

 **The movie, by Disney©, was called " _The Three Lives of Thomasina_ ", released in June, 1964**

 **-AND-**

 **The book, written by Richard Adams and published in 1972, of course, is " _Watership Down_ ".**

 **{I've read a LOT of HP fanfiction, so I can't say for certain just where what bits may have been inspired by or wholesale transplanted. If you see something that is yours, drop me a PM and I will gladly give credit where credit is due.)**

[I also owe the tip of a hat to TheMatador ( 1987255 / TheMatador )(remove spaces) as regards familiar lore, as well as to Pottermore® for additional information. HMR]

 **Please Read & Review**

(BETA NEEDED, PLEASE)


	2. In The Beginning

**1.** ** _In The Beginning_**

B

He'd traveled rough before, it was nothing new for him. After all, he'd been the unwanted seventh of his siblings; born small, underweight and not at all easy on the eyes, having to fight for every drop of nourishment he could.(One of his siblings had even said his face "... _looked worse than the roadkill cat_..." they'd come across a day or two earlier!)

Kailten knew he wasn't pleasant to look at, not a day went by when at least one of his relatives reminded him of it. But he had other advantages to make up for his lack of becoming features.

For one, a fierce loyalty burned in his chest, just waiting for that "one day in the future" magic moment when he'd find his bondmate. Also, Kailten was born with "True Gifts"; an ability to speak any semi-intelligent animal language via a form of telepathy, always knowing where he was, always being able to see through any magical Glamour or Disillusion/Invisibility cast by spell or by ingesting a potion.

But his greatest of all his Birth Gifts was to be able to Translocate. Similar to Apparation, the difference was it was wandless, non-verbal and didn't need a single motion to work.

Not that he was aware of any of that, yet.

A famine had struck the place of his birth before his mam, Merrokek, had even gotten pregnant. Amongst the large group of his siblings, aunts, uncle's, cousins and parents/grandparents, etc., Kailten was never able to scrabble fast enough for much of his mother's milk and none of the other nursing queens were able to foster him, even had they wanted.

Too young to fend for himself, either, he had lost weight and began to become listless, his mam finally having had to resort to carrying him. Finally, his sire had enough of this useless kit that was exhausting even more of Merrokek's strength and, one morning, Brackwallager had grabbed Kailten up by his scruff, carrying him until reaching the small copse of woods at the border of the clowder's territory, before dropping the half-dead kit in the long grass.

"Kailten, born of my line, I banish you. Never return to this territory, for if you do, I will kill you myself. GO! NOW!" Brackwallager growled at his wasting offspring, now repudiated forever.

As he watched his weak son slowly make his way shakily to his feet and then stumble into the woods, Kailten's sire mentally purged the youngster from his mind and senses before turning around and heading home, the others had already done the same, except for Merrokek, the moment they saw that Brackwallager had carried his runty, half-dead offspring out and cast him beyond "their" territory.

It wasn't cruelty, not really. Brackwallager had to ensure the survival of the 'entire' group, not just one, runty, weak and decidedly ugly kitten. Besides, a lost kitten or two out of a litter was almost a blessing for a queen, for it meant less stress on her and, as a result, healthier kits that; barring accident, battle or disease; would grow into healthy adults. Besides, losing one kitten out of a litter of seven wasn't much of a loss in the pragmatic Brackwallager's eyes.

Kailten had wobbled his way a few feet into the tight, brush-choked undergrowth, before finding a small depression between the gnarled roots of an old, ivy-garlanded 'grandfather' oak. He staggered, now almost unconscious, into the small space, before collapsed on top of the surprisingly soft bed of leaf-litter and moss, then, he knew no more.

The first thing he noticed was the almost orgasnic aroma of... Tunafish! He'd heard the older kits and the grannies talking about that most ambrosial food and had once smelled the heavenly essence of tunafish left upon a discarded tin the other cats had already licked perfectly clean. He'd never thought he would ever have a chance to even get the tiniest of licks.

Suddenly, Kailten's mind popped over a cog, as he found himself recalling his sire banishing him from the clowder, forever, and staggering into...

What -was- this softness? He'd only ever thought his mam could be that soft!

As more of his senses returned, Kailten realized he was completely bundled into that softness, the delectable fish aroma caressing his nose and the scenting patches at the back of his throat.

He heard a sound that seemed also like someone... talking? (Though not as melodius or interspersed with deep, rumbling purrs as the language of his people, of course!)

As weak and sickly as he'd been, he had still been given the ancestral memories along with his mam's first milk, not to mention hearing the old queens and toms talking. Between the two, he correctly deduced that it was a Human that was talking and tending to him.

Suddenly, a soft "something" was tucked into his mouth by the Human. His instincts kicked in as he automatically began to gently suckle on the teat-shaped thing...

Milk! Warm and soothing, making his rough, dry throat feel much better and his belly better, still.

Like a person in the process of being turned by a vampire, he latched onto that strange teat, suckling and swallowing as quick as he could and the strange teat just kept filling up again and again. Something deeply instinctually inside kicked in as his normally "always-empty" tummy began to fill with the warm, life-giving liquid, though it didn't quite taste like his mam's: it was even richer and tasted sweeter!

(Kailten couldn't know, then, that, due to the scant food his mother had had limited access to, her milk wasn't nearly as nourishing as it should have been.)

Of course his tiny, shrunken tummy was quickly filled; not even able to take in a full ounce; Kailten had already begun to feel very drowsy from satiation. Constant bullying from his litter mates and disdain from the other members of the clowder had contributed as much as lack of nourishment to his weakened condition. He hadn't dared sleep very long: he had to get onto a teat as soon as Merrokek's special nursing purr started, or he'd get little to nothing after his litter mates were done and there would barely be a drop or two left.

But, now? A tummy full of warm milk at last, encased in a cocoon of softness and the Human's voice all combined to send him into the best sleep he had yet known.


	3. NOTE TEMPORARY

JUST A QUICK NOTE...

MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE BOTH CAUGHT THE VIRUS LURKING IN OUR AREA AND I'VE EITHER BEEN TAKING CARE OF HIM OR DOWN MYSELF.

I DON'T HAVE ANY SET SCHEDULE FOR POSTING, BUT I DIDN'T WANT ANYONE THINKING I'D HIED OFF TO PARTS UNKNOWN. I -AM-, HOWEVER, PUTTING SOME TIME IN ON MY VOLDY TALE, SO EXPECT TO SEE AN UPDATE THERE SOON AND DON'T WORRY, KATSPAW! IS 100%OUTLINED

ISH

HMR


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